Temporary plant covers

ABSTRACT

A reusable temporary cover for indoor house plants to retain moisture for the plant. The cover is formed of flexible transparent plastic sheet material with tie means to completely enclose a house plant and includes a water retention portion to catch and store excess water. By enclosing the plants after watering, a terrarium effect is produced and moisture is retained within the cover for a long period of time.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

This invention relates to covers for indoor house plants that are to beused as a temporary measure when the plants cannot be watered or sprayedfor an extended period of time.

Usually, when one wanted to be sure that their indoor house plants wouldbe properly watered and/or sprayed during a period of absence such as avacation, it was necessary either to transport all of the plants toanother house where proper care could be given or a person would beauthorized to enter the residence for the purpose of caring for theplants. Neither alternative worked well since in the former situation,the change in environment could seriously affect the plants while in thelatter situation, the person employed to care for the plants would notalways be diligent in his responsibilities.

There thus exists a need for an inexpensive device that is easy to useand will keep plants watered for a long period of time witout the needfor constant care.

OBJECTS OF THE INVENTION

It is an object of the present invention to provide a new and improvedcover for indoor house plants.

It is another object of the present invention to provide a new andimproved plant cover that can be easily placed about the plants and willpermit light to pass through to the plants.

It is yet another object of the present invention to provide a reusableplant cover that will catch and retain any excess water placed on theplants.

It is still yet another object of the present invention to provide areusable plant cover that can be easily made in different sizes to fitthe many types and sizes of house plants and which is relatively easy tomanufacture and inexpensive in cost.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The above outlined objectives as well as other objects and features ofthe present invention are accomplished by a reusable cover comprising asheet of flexible material such as polyethylene having tie means toretain the cover about the plant. In one embodiment for use with plantsresting on a floor or other surface, the cover includes a pair of thetie means for securing the cover to the plant container as well astieing the cover to a closed position above the plant. A lip along theinner lower portion of the cover prevents leakage of excess water fromthe cover. In a second embodiment for use with hanging plants, the coverincludes a closed lower portion which encloses the plant container toretain any excess water, an upper tie means to fully enclose the plantand a hook on the upper portion of the cover to assist in supporting thecover.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

For a full understanding of the nature and objects of the invention,reference should be had to the following detailed description taken inconjunction with the accompanying drawings in which:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a house plant resting on a horizontalsurface and enclosure by a temporary plant cover in accordance with afirst embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a plan view showing the first embodiment of the presentinvention;

FIG. 3 is a sectional view taken along the line 3--3 of FIG. 2 lookingin the direction of the arrows:

FIG. 4 is a perspective view of a second embodiment of the temporaryplant cover of the present invention for use with a hanging plant;

FIG. 5 is a view in partially folded condition of the second embodimentof the temporary plant cover of the present invention; and

FIG. 6 is a sectional view taken along the line 6--6 of FIG. 5 lookingin the direction of the arrows.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

Referring now to the drawing in detail, where like reference numeralsindicate like parts throughout the several figures, reference numeral 10indicates a first embodiment of the temporary plant cover of the presentinvention for use with a plant in a container 12 adapted to sit on ahorizontal surface 14 such as a floor, shelf, or a table.

The temporary plant cover 10 is preferably made from a heat-sealableplastic sheet material such as polyethylene although other types offlexible sheet material may be used. As will be discussed below,polyethylene is preferred for its heat sealing capability as well as itslight transmitting and water impermeable characteristics.

The temporary plant cover 10, as seen best in FIG. 2, comprises asubstantially rectangular sheet 16 having an upper edge 18, a lower edge20 and side edges 22,24. Although sheet 16 is shown rectangular withedges 18,20 being the longer dimension, it should be obvious that othershapes including squares can be utilized depending on the size of theplant to be covered. The upper edge 18 is formed by folding a portion ofsheet 16 and heat sealing the folded portion along line 26 which issufficiently spaced from upper edge 18 to form an opening or channel 28for an upper tie means such as drawstring 30. The lower edge 20 isformed by folding a portion of sheet 16 and heat sealing the foldedportion along line 32 which is sufficiently spaced from lower edge 20 toform an opening or channel 34 for a lower tie means such as drawstring36. As discussed previously, if polyethylene is used then the openings28,34 are preferably formed by heat sealing along lines 26,32respectively, however, if other materials are used then other suitablemeans such as adhesive or sewing can be utilized, however, as discussedbelow, it is important that the lower seal line 32 be a continuous seal.

As seen best in FIG. 3, the lower folded portion is formed of a largerportion of sheet 16 then the upper folded portion with seal line 32being between lower edge 20 and the distal edge 38 of the lower foldedportion. The portion between seal line 32 and distal edge 38 forms anopen trough 40 to catch and retain excess water and is preferably ofgreater dimension than the portion between lower edge 20 and seal line32.

To use the temporary plant cover 10 shown in FIGS. 1, 2 and 3, a userinitially places the cover 10 in back of the plant with the surface ofthe cover as shown in FIG. 2 facing the user so that the trough 40 willbe on the inside of the cover when the cover envelopes the plantcompletely. The user then brings the edges 22,24 about the plant andtightens the bottom edge 20 about the plant container 12 by pulling ondrawstring 36. The upper edge 18 is then closed about the upper portionof the plant by pulling on drawstring 30. The edges 22,24 should beoverlapping to provide complete enclosure of the plant. Watering and/orspraying of the plant is best done just before fully enveloping theplant and any excess water will run down sheet 16 into trough 40 whereit will provide additional moisture for the plant through evaporation.

Reference should now be made to FIGS. 4, 5, and 6 where referencenumeral 42 indicates a second embodiment of the temporary plant cover ofthe present invention for use with a plant in a hanging container 44adapted to be suspended from an overhead surface 46 such as a ceilingthrough the usual chain link support 48.

The temporary plant cover 42 is preferably formed from a rectangularsheet of material 50 folded about itself to form sides 52,54 connectedby common edge 56. The sides 52,54 are also joined, preferably by heatsealing, along bottom edge 58 and partial side edge 60. The lowerportion of edge 56, bottom edge 58 and partial edge 60 define a trough62 to catch and retain excess water. The sides 52,54 of sheet 50 are notjoined above lower partial side edge 60 to enable the cover 42 to beplaced about the plant. The cover 42 further includes an upper edge 64formed by folding a portion of sheet 50 and heat sealing the foldedportion along line 66 to form an opening or channel 68 for an upper tiemeans such as drawstring 70.

A hook member 72 may be attached to the cover 42 adjacent upper edge 60and common edge 56 for a purpose described below.

As previously discussed, cover 42 is preferably made of a single sheetof material folded along common edge 52. However, it should be obviousthat other methods of construction can be utilized including the use oftwo separate sheets of material with common edge 52 produced byappropriate means such as heat sealing.

To use the temporary plant cover 42 shown in FIGS. 4, 5 and 6, a userinitially spreads apart sides 52 and 54 and places the plant and itscontainer into the cover so that the container 44 is substantiallywithin trough 62. The hook 72 may then be placed onto one of the linksin chain link support 44 to provide additional support for the cover.The upper portions of sides 52,54 are then brought around and over theplant and drawstring 70 is pulled to close the cover completely aboutthe plant. The edges of sides 52,54 above the lower edge 60 shouldoverlap to provide complete enclosure for the plant. Watering and/orspraying of the plant is best done just before fully enveloping theplant so that any excess water will run down sheet 50 into trough 62where it will provide additional moisture for the plant throughevaporation.

It has been found that the temporary plant covers of the presentinvention made of polyethlene on a similar impermeable transparent ortranslucent material when placed around a plant after watering will keepthe plant in a proper environment for a substantial period of time. Itappears that the cover provides a terrarium like container for theplants and provides a proper balance of moisture, light and air for theplants.

It will thus be seen that the objects set forth above are efficientlyattained and since certain changes may be made in the above constructionwithout departing from the scope of the invention, it is intended thatall matter contained in the above description or as shown in theaccompanying drawing shall be interpreted as illustrative and not in alimiting sense.

What is claimed is:
 1. A plant cover adapted to substantially enclose aplant in a container, said plant cover formed of a substantiallywater-proof and light transmitting flexible sheet with upper and loweredges and having a first tie means, second tie means and trough means,said first tie means comprising a first channel and draw string withinsaid first channel and being located along said upper edge of saidflexible sheet, said second tie means being located between said loweredge of said flexible sheet and said trough means and comprising asecond channel and a draw string within said second channel, said troughmeans being integrally formed with said second channel of said secondtie means, said upper and said lower edges of said flexible sheet beingformed of upper and lower folded portions of said sheet and said lowerfolded portion being sealed to said sheet to form said second channelwherein said lower folded portion is sealed between said lower edge andthe distal edge of said lower folded portion and the trough means isformed above said seal and the distance from the seal to the distal edgeof said lower folded portion is greater than the distance from the sealto said lower edge.
 2. A plant cover formed from a folded sheet to formtwo vertical edges and adapted to substantially enclose a plant in ahanging container, said plant cover formed of a substantially waterproofand light transmitting flexible sheet having a first tie meanscomprising a channel and a drawstring within said channel, said firsttie means being located along an upper edge of said flexible sheet andtrough means adjacent to a lower edge of said flexible sheet whereinsaid flexible sheet is formed in two layers with said layers beingpermanently hermetically sealed along the entire bottom and lower bottomportion of one first vertical edge of said flexible sheet to form saidtrough means and wherein the upper portion of said one side remainsunsealed so that said flexible sheet may be enclosed about a plant andsubsequently opened to permit watering of the plant without removing ordisassembling said plant cover and hook means located at the juncture ofsaid upper edge and a second vertical edge formed by the fold of saidplant cover for supporting said plant cover whereby no weightattributable to the container is placed against said trough means andsaid hook means is located so as to allow the unimpeded opening of saidunsealed side during watering of the plant.